“Well, if I’m anyone’s friend,” said Vanessa, taking a seat on Joey’s right, “I think I was Joey’s friend first. She has been so warm and welcoming.”
Dani and Pedro laughed, and Joey rolled her eyes. She couldn’t say anything, because it felt like the entire right side of her body was on fire and she didn’t want to give herself away. She shot a pointed look at Dani, who mouthed “I didn’t know!” when Pedro and Vanessa looked away.
Joey wasn’t sure she believed her. But she also wasn’t sure she was angry about the situation. No, she decided. She wasn’t angry. But she was definitely uncomfortable. She could feel a drop of sweat dribbling down her back despite the fans on full blast in the bar.
A waiter came over and Vanessa ordered smoothly in Spanish. Joey raised her eyebrows.
“Dani’s right, you have been working hard.”
Vanessa gave a triumphant smile. “Thank you. I still have so much to learn, but I wanted to be less of an embarrassing British tourist.” She eyed Joey.
Joey laughed. She’d thought of Vanessa that way at the start. How she thought of her now was a more complicated thing to parse, although she couldn’t help following the line of Vanessa’s low cut top, which was beginning to give her an idea.
“Did you manage to get the shopping, Pedro?” asked Dani.
“Yeah, I got ours and Uncle Sergio’s, too.” Pedro took a sip from the red wine that had just been delivered for him.
“How’s he doing?” asked Joey.
“Not great,” said Dani. “He’s really not well, so eitherme or Pedro go and visit him every day.” She looked over at Vanessa. “Sergio is in his seventies, and he hasn’t been in good health for the past few years. These last few months he’s really been struggling.”
Vanessa’s brows furrowed in sympathy. “Oh, I’m sorry. That must be hard. It must be nice for him to have you and Pedro looking after him.”
Joey was reminded of why she liked Dani so much when Dani just smiled and took another sip of her drink.
“If you need help with anything, or need a day off, let me know,” said Joey. She often made this offer, but Dani hadn’t taken her up on it yet. She hoped she would.
“How’s the beautiful Carmen?” asked Pedro.
“She’s missing you,” said Joey. “Every time she sees you, after you’ve gone she spends at least three days talking about how handsome you are and how beautiful a couple you and Dani make.” She rolled her eyes again.
Dani grinned. “She is right, of course. He is very handsome.”
“And ridiculously busy for the next few weeks,” he said. “I’m off to Madrid for work and won’t be around for a while.”
Joey put her hand to her heart. “How will you cope, Dani?”
“Calm down, idiot, I’ll be fine,” said Dani. “But I may take you up on that help if Uncle Sergio gets any worse.”
“Do let me know, too,” said Vanessa. “I know I’m pretty new to the gang, but I’m sure I could be helpful in some way.”
“Old or new, you’re definitely part of the gang,” said Dani, resting her hand on Vanessa’s. “Isn’t she, Joey?”
For a moment, Joey felt like a rabbit in headlights. She nodded and took a gulp of her drink. Vanessa seemed tohave successfully inveigled her way into Joey’s life very quickly, and she wasn’t sure she trusted something that had happened so fast.
And besides, Dani had only just acknowledged she might need Joey’s help. Why would she want the help of someone she barely knew?
Chapter Seventeen
VANESSA’S LEMON DRIZZLE CAKE RECIPE
Pre-heat the oven to 180°C.
Beat together 225g softened butter and 225g caster sugar until pale and creamy, then add 4 eggs, one at a time, slowly mixing through.
Sift in 225g self-raising flour, then add the zest of 1 lemon and mix until well combined.
Line a loaf tin with greaseproof paper, then spoon in the mixture and level the top with a spatula.
